Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the LORD. And the LORD said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.” (vv.20-23)
Here we see that even the son of promise (Isaac) did not come into the promise easily. It only came through years of waiting and prayer. This prayer was answered, but some 20 years after Isaac and Rebekah first married (Genesis 25:20, 26). Their faith and persistence in prayer was tested and invited to grow through many years. And, these would be the only children born to Isaac and Rebekah.
The struggle described here that was taking place in Rebekah’s womb made her seek God. As she sought Him, the LORD spoke to her regarding number of children in her womb, their gender, and the destiny of those sons in her womb. What God said to her was simple; Rebekah you will give birth to twins. The twins would each father nations. One shall be greater than the other, and the older shall serve the younger.
The older serving the younger went against the culture of the day, for in Isaac’s day, the firstborn received a double portion of the inheritance always. However, the Lord does not follow man’s cultures or ideas. The reversal of this cultural norm would later become clear. God announced these intentions to Rebekah here before the children were born (the older shall serve the younger), and repeated His verdict long after Jacob and Esau had both passed from the earth, "Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have rejected." (Malachi 1:2-3). In Romans 9:10-13, the Apostle Paul used this choice of Jacob over Esau before their birth as an illustration of God’s sovereign choice.
Our greatest error in considering the choices of God is to think God chooses for arbitrary reasons, as if His choices were random and senseless. God chooses according to His divine wisdom, love, and goodness. We may not be able to understand God’s reasons for choosing (and they are reasons He alone knows), His choices are not random or capricious, but righteous.
The Truth: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)
